I'm delighted to be among the bloggers participating in the Hands2Help blog hop !
Avid, committed quiltmakers bestow quilts on their immediate and extended families. They happily make quilts for baby and wedding gifts, graduations and retirements and anniversaries. They have wall hangings and placemats for every season. They may even sell a few pieces. But the inspiration keeps coming -- online, in print, at shops and shows, from fellow quilters. What does a quiltmaker do? Make quilts for strangers, of course.
The funny thing is that I did not give the quilt to this project! I e-mailed the presenter, a Rotarian from Oswego, IL, and he sent me the photo that my friend commented on. Obviously it is a quilt that I made. I donated it to the Rotary Club of Boothbay Harbor, ME, which was collecting quilts for Safe Passage (http://www.safepassage.org/) a couple of years ago. The Boothbay club coordinator told me that my quilt was not going directly to Guatemala but would be sold (or raffled) stateside as part of a fundraiser. Evidently it ended up with Alliance for Smiles -- keeping it in the Rotary family.
One of our guild charity projects is wheelchair quilts for an area nursing home. As regular blog readers know I've had great fun with that size -- 14 completed so far.
I could bore you to tears regale you for hours with stories about donation quilts. In return I'd be happy to hear about yours! Please leave a comment about a quilt you donated. What was the pattern? When did you make it? Did it go to a agency, or a fundraising event? Did you ever learn who received it?
Everyone who leaves a comment with a donation story will be entered into a giveway! You'll get a flat rate box with fabric, notions, and a book or two. Note these conditions:
* If you are no-reply or anonymous you'll need to include your email and first name in your comment.
* I can ship only to U.S. addresses. (If you're out of the U.S. you're welcome to share your story.)
* The drawing will be Friday, April 21, at 9 a.m. CDT.
I went modern and emphasized negative space. I used the walking foot to quilt diagonally in the triangle panel and straight horizontal lines in the light gray. 39 x 68.
And so a new donation quilt is added to the Stack of Opportunities.
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Be sure to visit the other bloggers in the hop.
Linking up with Scrap Happy Saturday Oh Scrap! Design Wall Monday
I moved on to other crafts, leaving me with piles of fabric that I bought in the last millenium. It all has memories and I didn't want to sell it or give it away. I went back to quilting and make three or four quilts a months for the local branch of Project Linus. The organiser keeps me supplied with batting and that's the only thing I didn't have heaped up. If I see a quilt I want to make I scale it down so it makes the size I can give away. I make maybe one or two baby quilts a year for the new grandchildren of friends but everything I make is bound and out of the house. I've reduced my storage but the boxes I've got rid of were out of sight in wardrobes so there's no visible difference for my years of sewing. I'm having a lot of fun and I know that I am using up fabric that no-one would appreciate as much as I do.
ReplyDeleteThere have been so many donation quilts in these last 20+ years. The one I still chuckle about is Bonnie Hunter's Virginia Bound which I started in a workshop with her and gave in a round-about way to my walking buddy. I told her that her quilt came from the group at church which gave quilts to members going through chemo, but really I made it for her and then gifted it in the name of the church's quilt group. It had my mother's table cloths, my daughter's curtain project (fabric bought, but never made), all fabrics with plaids and stories.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post, Nann! And how fun to hear of the travels of one of your donation quilts. I think the farthest I've ever sent a quilt was to Singapore, for a lady with pancreatic cancer. I'm not even sure how we found out about her situation! Thank you for joining the guest posters for H2H this year!
ReplyDeletegee i've been donating quilts since starting my quilting life in 1979...these days more inclined to make tops and give to local thrift to sell...saves me cost of finishing and helps them out as well...win/win....love the purple triangles!
ReplyDeleteNann, for so long I've wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your blog, the excursions you go on, books you read, and quilts you make. I'm in awe of the quilts you donate-so generous of you. Periodically I've donated to different groups, while making for myself and family. I'm still a hand quilter so my quilts get finished slowly, and I donate embroidered ornaments to my library's holiday sale. But the past year (between gift quilts, "stitch meditations" (fb group), and "fabulous stitched balls" (fb group)), I'm getting a stack of small lap quilts finished for the local donation. I'm tying them and adding hand quilting, made from fabric on hand (including scraps from the first scrap exchange we had in the Liberated Quilting Yahoo group where I met you). Thanks for the links to the other blogs which I'll visit.
ReplyDeleteHi Nann, I often make and give quilts as donations. I give yearly to the H2H quilt drive. I also give them locally to shelters in my area. I make twin bed and baby sized quilts (their requested sizes) for our local organization that helps foster kids, and I also include baby quilts as part of my themed baby gift baskets for local fundraisers. I love making them for my local Humane Society and Meals on Wheels as silent auction items for the yearly fundraiser events. And this year, I'm also making an Owl/woodland animal themed baby basket complete with a quilt for a local Library. They had put out a call for items be donated for their building fund for structural repairs. My donated baby basket will be one of the silent auction items that will be sold at this years' 4th of July celebration.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, love hearing how prolific you are in your donation quilts. I too love to make to give when I have time. One year I gave 30 quilts to the local Crisis Nursery Center, the director was pleased as punch as their supply was gone. I have also gifted to Ronald McDonald, Project Linus, Neonatal ward over the years. And recently I sent some quilts with my DIL to hand out when they go to the Cities to help feed the less fortunate, she said the quilts went to a reservation there. I will be gifting her more to take this year.
ReplyDeleteI was touched to read your stories of donations. Especially when you mentioned City of Hope in Zion Illinois. I was a breast cancer patient at that facility in 2000-2001. It was CTCA then. And I remember in one of the day rooms was a quilt on a frame, that patients and theirs support people were invited to stitch on. I was a brand new quilter then and I knew very little about hand quilting. But I sat there a stitched a bit and admired that quilt. Since then I’ve made many quilts for family and friends. I’ve sent quilts to Mercyful Quilts, Jack’s Basket and Little Lambs. I don’t know who received my donation quilts for these organizations, but I do know they were appreciated because I took a gifted quilt with me on my Cancer Journey. It helped me know that someone cared!
ReplyDeleteI donate quilts to others I don't know also so I never actually 'know' how a quilt has helped that person feel the 'quilty hug'! Pat P.
ReplyDeleteHow cool that your quilt turned up in a presentation and someone there knew you. I've donated four quilts over the years. One for a school auction, one to Quilts of Valor and two as auction items to support service dog training efforts at Service Dogs of Oklahoma. I don't know who received any of my quilts, but I did hear that the man who won the last one I donated to the Service Dogs organization was absolutely thrilled with it.
ReplyDeleteOne of my retirement goals was to make more quilts for donation, and I've been achieving that with about 3 - 4 per year. I think my favorite one was the Positivity quilt (Preeti's QAL) that I sent to Mercyful Quilts a couple years ago. I always enjoy seeing the beautiful quilts you make and hearing about where they're headed!
ReplyDelete95% of my quilts are donated to our local Women's and Children's Alliance where families can escape abusive homes. Since I started tracking donations specifically in 2018 I have donated 188 quilts ranging child size to 100" square for beds. I always hope some moments of "some stranger cares about me" happens for the recipients. I cannot imagine their plight.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest donation quilt was my first Trail Mix. The majority of my smaller quilts are Happy Blocks style which I became hooked on by Marianne-a friend made in an online quilt group. She sent me a box of squares and strips and I've been making them since!
I do not know the "who" of any donation. Privacy is highly protected for all the WCA residents unless they go public with their story. Quilts for me are like "catch and release fishing". I make them and let them go hoping they will bring someone a moment of joy.
Hi Nan,
ReplyDeleteI have been following your blog for several years now. I grew up in Waukegan. I have been donating quilts for charity projects for years. They have mostly been donated through my quilt guilds and have gone to many different groups. I worked with fifth graders on a project where each child made a block, I assembled several small quilts and the students tied and stitched the layered pieces. The finished quilts were sent to Central America with a friend who went on mission trips, or to the local Project Linus.
Sue quilt@sad.lerch.family
I have donated many quilts over the last 20 years. We are a military family, moving from place to placw all around the world. Many of the quilting circles, groups and guilds I’ve belonged to had charity missions, and often they were wounded warrior related, thus the need for patriotic comfort quilts. I learned to freemotion quilt on my domestic machine and longarm quilt making these quilts for men and women of our Army who risked so much for our freedom.
ReplyDeleteMy eldest daughter also became a quilter and chose charity quilt making as her Girl Scout Gold Award focus. She and I spent months gathering supplies and making quilts for a women and children’s shelter with a goal to comfort every child residing there with a quilt of his or her own. Though we often never meet the people we quilt for, we know our hearts and well wishes go into each and every quilt.
Nann:
ReplyDeleteYour post, as usual, was a joy to read. I've followed your linked quilt pictures from a few different blogs and enjoyed your stories, book recommendations and quilts for a while. Thank you for sharing all your fun hobbies.
My quilts are donated through Comfort Quilts which began sewing for the Cincinnati Ronald McDonald House and gradually grew to include a local hospice, a pediatric group, a local hospital's cancer treatment center, a group that supports foster children and more. I've seen one of my quilts in a thank you book that the pediatric group sent us. However, a better story about our quilts comes from our coordinator. She was at a medical appointment and spied one of our quilts in use by a woman receiving cancer treatment. They struck up a conversation during which the woman shared that the quilt is always with her and told of how comforting it's been for her.
Aren't these stories and thank you notes from the donation sites such wonderful motivators for us to keep doing something we enjoy while knowing we are supporting so many other people!
Connie W.
How you used the leftover purple triangles is most excellent! And kudos for the many, many donations quilts you've made and shared. I, too, make and donate (sometimes finished, sometimes tops and backs) and it always makes me happy to know the quilts will bring joy and comfort to their new owners. Kudos to all who donate whether with Hands2Help or on their own!! Quiltdivajulie
ReplyDeleteNann, you have certainly been a prolific donation quilt maker. I remember you from several quilt excursions during Public Library Association conferences quite a few years ago. I've donated quilts to Project Linus, participated in Hands2Help, sent blocks to Kat in TX for Covered in Love, and now sending blocks to Cynthia for her compassion quilts project in OR. I helped make two quilts for my husband's Rotary Club using t-shirts from their annual Corn Festival and my quilt group made quilts for the beds at a local halfway house for women veterans. I think quilters are some of the most generous people in the world.
ReplyDeletePat
I donate unfinished tops to a nearby group that makes quilts for chemo and dialysis patients. I recently gave them about a dozen kits made up from my stash for their group to make. I gave them several finished quilts last year that they sold in their boutique to raise funds for their batting and other supplies.
ReplyDeleteGreat post to read! Thanks for participating in the H2H charity drive. I so enjoy reading the blogs. I have been donating quilts for years - it warms my heart to donate to children who are homeless or abused, in orphanages or who have lost everything in a natural disaster. I’ve also donated to Project Linus and to Covered in Love in TX. It is such a joy to read all the above comments and see all the special quilts that are made and donated. 💕 kaweed59@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt and wonderful story of your own quilt's journey!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful post, full of quilty love & so many donations! I too donate a few of my quilts, mainly to the Hospice where my daughter is a nurse. She tells me my quilts add some delightful colour and are often a conversation starter when things are sad or difficult.
ReplyDeleteTransitional housing! I just googled that term (with "near me") and sent an email to the Mobile Loaves and Fishes organization that's behind the Community First! Village just south of me. Thanks for that nudge.
ReplyDeleteBeen donating for decades. You needn't add me to the give-away pot. I'm at the age where I'd just as soon give away than receive.
Bird 'Pie
I love your stories! I've been quilting for about 7 or 8 years. Most of the quilts I make I donate to the Linus Project. After an injury to my neck, I'm behind on quilting my flimsies though...Thank you for the inspiration. I'm part way through one flimsy this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteHi Nann, I know you are aware that I donate many of the quilts I've made through our church's quilt ministry, and we've also been the lucky recipients of some of your quilt tops! You are amazingly prolific and generous with your donations to so many causes. While most of our quilts remain fairly local, when our group was first formed we sent seven quilts to forest fire victims in Alberta. I've also sent quilt blocks to Australia after the big wildfires a couple years ago.
ReplyDeleteHi Nann! I just started following your blog and really am enjoying it. I have no idea when you have time to sleep! As you most likely already know, I've donated dozens of blankets to Project Linus over the years and while we rarely get to see the recipient, I've had that honor 3 times. My favorite was a china cabinet quilt my daughter and I did together. It went onto to Snowball Express where they sent us pictures of the children who chose them. Touched my heart.
ReplyDeleteMy first opportunity to donate was years ago shortly after the shooting at Columbine High school. I could not do much to help, but I could donate a little time to help ease some one's broken heart. I caught the bug and enjoy making charity quilts all of the time! I'm twice blessed, the first time with the fun and excitment of making another quilt. And the second blessing is the joy felt when giving that quilt away. ❤Heidee
ReplyDeletelindseylanestudio@gmail.com
You've got a long history of quilt giving, too! I was interested in the charities you chose - what a great Rotary Club story. I've made quilts for many purposes over the years, but the longest group I've donated to is American Hero Quilts. I've donated since the first months, by mail, because I don't live in WA. I have kept count, and it's a lot, but my family is very connected to the military, for generations, and it's a cause close to my heart. I've done dozens of patterns, mostly scrappy, and they are partially documented on my blog. There are probably more log cabins than any other pattern, and they are ALL scrappy, mostly leader-ender projects. It's a cause near and dear to me, and I will be making quilts for them until there's no more need. =)
ReplyDeleteI've made a lot of donation quilts over the years, but am not as prolific as you. Great job on that big stack of quilts going to a needy cause! I like the modern look of that final triangle quilt. Clever use of those pieces.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a chance to win a prize, Nann!! My biggest donation project was organizing a Block Drive for a Lutheran World Relief quilt project on my blog... but you already knew about that, didn't you? You were one of my biggest supporters and I thank you. TWENTY quilts were sent off (when I was hoping for a pie-in-the-sky number of five!) The entire series of posts can be found at the Donations tab at the top of my blog.
ReplyDeleteRecently my quilting buddies and i have been making lap quilts to donate to the nursing home. One buddies Mom resides there. Just a basic ten inch square pattern.
ReplyDeleteI recently used a charm pack and background fabric to make a simple lap quilt for a friend of mine. He used it for his chemo sessions to keep his legs warm. He was very appreciative. Thanks for a chance to win a prize.
ReplyDeleteI'm a late to the party quilter. I made my first quilt in 2013, after watching Jenny Doan do a Jelly Roll Race quilt top from start to finish, with the big classroom clock in the background spinning. The film was speeded up and was hilarious. I watched it over and over, then went out and bought 3 Jelly rolls to make Christmas gifts. That was in Oct. 2013. I made the quilts in time to mail off for gifts. Those were my first 3 quilts, and I've been at it ever since.
ReplyDeleteI now make quilts for charity. This is my 3rd year for Hands2Help, and I donate to local charity events. I sent quilts and pillowcases to Quilted Twins for Ukraine. It's all good!
Linda M in STL
I make throw size quilts for a neighboring church prayer quilt ministry. They provide fabric and batting. They present the quilt to the family at a Sunday mass. Very rewarding when family sends a picture with the recipient using the quilt.
ReplyDeleteNann, what a joy it has been for so many of us to share our talents and skills to enhance the lives of others! Over the years I have donated hundreds of quilts, or tops, through my Arizona guild, Nimble Thimbles (570 quilts donated when we never met in person through the early stages of Covid!) and through various agencies and donation spots here in Alberta, including quilts for the 2013 flood victims in Calgary, and making sure a new Habitat build in our town had a new quilt for each bed and occupant.My experience has not been good in donating quilts for auctions, because people won’t pay what they’re worth, so I would rather give a pile of quilts to any of the local women’s shelters, or give fabric for others to use. My stash will outlive me!! Anonymous is best, it puts the emphasis on the recipient, not the giver. Fellow Rotarian, Jill McCaughey. JillMcCaughey at shaw dot ca
ReplyDeleteNann, I've been following you for awhile, and you have great posts. Good to hear the news in this one. I have given my quilts to family and friends, and people at my church.
ReplyDeleteViridian61@yahoo.com
I've donated to Project Linus, the local fire department, through the Hands2Help annual challenge for 10+ years, a wounded veterans' group raffle, Ukraine relief effort, disaster relief, etc. Often I want to remake a quilt that turns out particularly well, but I don't think I have (yet!).
ReplyDeleteGood job, Nann. I have given lots of quilts to hospitals, and other entities, but most recently I took a small batch of 6 to the Ronald McDonald family room in our city. They were so nice and I was impressed to I will be taking more to them.
ReplyDeleteThere have been a couple of times I have heard from donation recipients. After a QOV that I could not attend because I was sick, I received a phone call from the gentleman. It ends up his late wife had been a quilter and it made his heart sing to tell me all about her. It touched him that someone he didn't know would make him a quilt. It was the sweetest thing.
ReplyDeleteI am in charge of my Guild donation. Sometimes it is stressful. I feel like it is pulling teeth to get people to contribute. On Oct. 5, 2022 my best friend died at Hospice. My heart was broken. She always jumped in to help in every aspect of my life. I have regularly been donated quilts to Hospice but another friend suggested we make 16 twin quilts in her memory. One for each bed. We actually managed to complete the task in 2 months and present them on what would have been her birthday. People I would never have thought would help, jumped in to help. I will miss her but I know she is smiling at all of these quilts.
ReplyDeleteWay to go, Nann!
ReplyDeleteI've probably made and donated hundreds of quilts over the years. I don't use any one pattern but usually always use scraps. I have seen some pictures of the recipients for ones I've donated to Quilts Beyond Borders or Wrap-A-Smile and those were of children in places far far away! I've seen a few QOV recipients too. I've donated to a lot of places and especially like donating quilts for kids but do also make quite a few twin sized quilts. Some places I've donated in addition to ones mentioned and ones that are local - Lifting Hands, Comfort Cases, Little Lambs. And I have some quilts ready to go to some new ones to me that I found on the GiveBackBox site so postage will be cheaper. I used to sign up for H2H every year but a couple of years ago I figured I give all year long so didn't see the point although I do enjoy seeing all the quilts that are made and donated each year.
I don't usually hear about the quilts I donated but in one special instance I did! Early in my quilting career (over 10 years ago) I donated a quilt to a fella in the Midwest for a homeless shelter he was donating to. He received a thank you note from the lady recipient and shared it with me. She said it was the nicest thing anyone had given her. It was a rail fence all in reds. My other great story is that I made dolls for Dolls of Hope in Utah who send them to children around the world. I actually saw two of my dolls in the hands of African children. Both events were awesome for my soul. nikki_moshier at hotmail.com.
ReplyDeleteI've been quilting for many years but don't remember donating quilts early on. But in the last 10 to 15 years I've been making quilts and passing them on. Many of my quilts go to NICUs. It's fast and fun to make baby quilts. Although I have donated to many different good causes: I sent a huge box of quilts up to Washington state when they had serious flooding. Between myself and two friends every student whose family lost their home or had major damage received a quilt that year. I've got a stash of quilts finished that will be moving out as part of Hands2Help.
ReplyDeletewho knows if this get you to my blog. I have been making donation quilts for 12-13 years. In our area, Sarah's house ( cancer treatment), Linus quilts, local retirement homes...I have two quilt tops done so far for this blog along
ReplyDeleteI have donated multiple quilts over the years through H2H. I love the feeling of giving to someone who can use a beautiful quilt (my family has more than they can handle!). LisaS
ReplyDeleteYou are always so prolific and kind, Nann. I make loads of baby quilts that I give to DH’s coworkers (who I rarely know), randome people who come by and need one, and also to the church and local hospital. One of my largest went to Ronald McDonald house years ago. It’s just down the street. I wonder where that quilt is now? Surely it went home with someone.
ReplyDeleteAnn at FretNot
I enjoy reading your blog and am inspired by your creativity. I have donated many quilts over the years through our guild, so I don’t know where they may end up as we donate to umbrella agency that gives to their clients. One of the earliest donations was a quilt that was made to be given to a child in foster care. That meant a lot to me. 😊
ReplyDeleteHi, Thanks for your generosity in sharing your experiences and your quilts. I donated a quilt last year that was headed for Ukrainian refugees. I also added the binding to a quilt another quilter donated without the binding finished. I hope both quilts arrived and have helped keep someone warm this past winter. This is my first time reading your blog. I will be looking at your book recommendations. I have been reading from a young age and always enjoy a good book!
ReplyDeleteVonnie vonnieh11@gmail.com
I too make donation quilts. My family and friends have been gifted many quilts and I still want to sew. I belong to a few local groups that make quilts like Quilts of Valor and project Linus.Just keep on sewing.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful stories you shared and I love that last little quilt you threw together. I am going to come up with a similar quickie I hope for my post in a few weeks. Thanks for your many years of making donation quilts and comforting so many you will never meet.
ReplyDeleteYour experiences with donating quilts is so interesting. I love that you started so early and continue to make quilts to give away.
ReplyDeleteI think I made my first quilts for donation after my mom died, in early November, 1997. We weren't close but I felt incredibly sad after she died. As Thanksgiving and Christmas approached, I didn't feel like celebrating. Not long before her death, I'd bought several yards of fabric to make quilts for my daughters. Instead, I sewed six or eight baby quilts and my daughters and I tied them. We delivered them to our local children's hospital.
I've donated other quilts more recently, but I think making those baby quilts was my favorite experience.
I enjoy your blog immensely and admire how quickly your quilts and how quickly you make them, Nann. I'm slow and sometimes i say to myself, "Be like Nann and work faster." It doesn't help but you're still an inspiration.